Libraries Around Town

A colleague recently pointed me to a blog post about the Paradero Para Libros Para Parques (PPP), which is a program that allows for very small libraries to be inserted into community hot-spots. In this case, it’s a partnership with the city parks. I think this is amazing because not everyone can always make it to the library, and this just gives residents another access point to books and other library services. In fact, this may be a way to reach out to library non-users. Furthermore, during the busy months of summer reading, it may be a way to reach out to more kids and/or allow kids to see that library services aren’t exclusive to their building(s).

Also, this project reminded me quite a bit of the Little Free Library movement. For those of you who don’t know, you can order or build your own Little Free Library and put it up anywhere you have permission to. This is a great opportunity for both individuals and organizations because it doesn’t require a lot of capital, and it provides the freedom in allowing everyone to tailor their library to their own tastes. For example, a Little Free Library near a dog park might focus more on books and resources about how to care for and play with your pet dog. Bust Magazine actually just featured Little Free Libraries in a recent blog post: Random Crafts of Kindness!